Haazinu (Listen Up): A Book of Prophecy by Yerachmiel Ben-Yishe, Gefen Publishing House, 2011, 268 pages, ISBN 9789652295347,Retail price unlisted.
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO– Family members and an ex-lover of terminally ill patients gather before and after their hospital visits to share their sorrowful memories and to reflect on life’s larger purpose. In this process of male bonding, they marvel at the coincidence that they all, in one fashion or another, are interested in proving whether or not God exists.
Unlike many such conversations, which subside into a haze of fraternity-purchased beer, this one develops into a plan for action and adventure. There are evidentiary hints, fragments, that suggest that the biblical Cain indeed was indeed required to walk the earth forever. If Cain can be found, God’s existence can be proven, they decide. And off some of them go on a quest to the Caribbean.
The central character is Caleb, a Christian with some Jewish ancestry, who years ago had abandoned the patient Michelle “Mitch” Levy because he couldn’t defy his mother’s vicious anti-Semitism. If that’s not enough reason to dislike him, then consider his bizarre theory: all the world’s troubles result from the Jews not living up to God’s commandments. Jews, he believes, are the proxies for all humankind, and unless Jews start following the laws of the Torah to the letter, the world will suffer more disasters. Caleb offers this rant after he sees another character in the book, Joseph Kallman, eating a sandwich with bacon in it.
Before writing off Caleb as a pathological excuse-maker who rationalizes his own despicable behavior towards Mitch by blaming the Jews, we learn how tormented by his own failings he really is, and how helpless and remorseful he feels in the face of her fast-approaching death.
This is a novel that tries to be many things: a religious commentary, a social critique, a travel adventure tale, and a twisted love story, among them. The format of the book allows each character in turn to tell a little of his own story, and then, assembled into a team, journey together into the bizarre. Although each character feels something of a cosmic connection to the other, from this reader’s standpoint the plot is stretched to the point of fraying.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com